All those little annoyances about flying – the line-ups at security, the weather delays, the carry-on baggage issues, the skinny seats and chubby, chatty seat mates – they all pale in comparison to what may be on the horizon. Cell phone calling. OMG!

The technology to support midair cell phone calls exists right now, but it usually doesn’t happen. Yet.

Most airlines that that offer WiFi on board have the capability to support voice and some international airlines including British Airways, Emirates, and Etihad already permit calls on certain routes.

In North America thankfully, voice calls are still forbidden. One of the main reasons is opposition by flight attendants who say the idea of allowing passengers in-flight phone use would lead to chaos, conflict and craziness. Negative public perception is also a deterrent.

Airline officials won’t even consider in-flight cell-phone calls until or unless they feel there is overwhelming demand from customers to provide the service, according to Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry analysis firm in San Francisco.

Even then, airlines still choose not to permit inflight calls.

A spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants, a union representing 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, says flight attendants don’t want to take on any more policing of passengers’ social behavior and they come down firmly against voice calls on planes.

They suggest (rightly) that passengers would inevitably offend others with loud calls and arguments would follow.

Among the travel experts and the travelling public, feelings about allowing voice calls in the air are mixed.

Many passengers too, are horrified by the prospect of in-flight cell-phone calls which could create an “annoying” environment and undoubtedly trigger disagreements about appropriate volume and call length.

Look for an uptick on noise cancelling headphones.